After I decided to take my source site offline for the time being, I thought it would be best to post the contents here in the blog.
TextBoxHint is a Javascript script that puts a piece of hinted text into a form textbox before the user selects the box. When the box is selected, the text is instantly removed. If the user fails to input any text in the input box then the hint is restored. (more…)
31.Oct.06 
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After installing a new version of Akismet SpamFilter, this blog is now (mostly) filtering the thousands of spam messages that are posted each month. On average I am having to manaully deal with about one-hundred spam posts a day and I am sure that I am actually accidentally deleting other ‘real’ peoples comments…
But not anymore, oh no! Now Akismet will take care of that for me and I can get on with the posting. Soup of the Day is now on FeedBurner too, which you can access through http://feeds.feedburner.com/soupoftheday .
31.Oct.06 Uncategorized Comments (0)
Today the version of WordPress we use was upgraded from 2.0.1 to 2.0.5. You should not notice any changes, but there may be the odd piece of content missing. I have been very careful trying to ensure all content has been retained, but you know, some things just slip through the net.
If you find something that isn’t working, just post a commment to this posting.
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In the next few months, we are going to be switching to WordPress MU (or Multi-User), allowing us to have multiple blogs from the same database system. This will support the new Polaris Digital web site that is nearing completion.
31.Oct.06 Uncategorized Comments (0)
The return of Faithless
Last night Channel 4 showed the first ever showing of Bombs, the new single from Faithless. The new video is a very clear comment on the world we currently find ourselves in, juxtaposing traditional western family life with images of war from the 60’s right up to today’s troubles.
The song itself is nice enough. Certainly this signals a real move from Faithless’ original club mega-anthems, although any true fan will know they were always much more than the single releases. A quick listen to Sunday 8pm and you will see that most of the their albums are not dance or class electro-pop, but beautiful musical vistas with relevant, at times haunting, poetry from Maxi Jazz.
But Bombs reminds me of something different, something vintage. What ever you think of it, I have one thing to say. Who ever said the protest song was dead?
Now, a very special treat for you (go to hell YouTube!). For your delectation, you can now watch the full video by selecting the image-link below or point your browser at: http://blog.polaris-digital.com/images/faithless_bombs.mov (43MB QuickTime 7, H.264).
Please note that this is breaking so so many copyright laws and if Sony BMG or Faithless contact me to ask for it to be removed, I will not hesitate to abide. As a note to Sony BMG and Faithless management, I have been a Faithless fan for over ten years and have brought every album (twice in some cases). Although I understand you want to sell copies of the song and video through your regular channels, just consider this free as advertising.
However in the mean time (while you can), enjoy! (Requires QuickTime 7)
The new Faithless album is released on the 27th November, 2006 under the Sony BMG/Cheeky Records label. The single Bombs is availble now in all good record stores and on the iTunes Store.
26.Oct.06 Uncategorized Comment (1)
Days after Microsoft finally released Windows Internet Explorer 7, the Mozilla Foundation release the next version of their flag-ship Firefox browser. Firefox 2 has been available as a release candidate for just under two months, with the last releases code base identical to today’s version.
Firefox 2 is generally everything we have come to expect from version 1, but with a few new features.
Underneath the hood, Firefox 2 still uses a branch of the Gekko engine we were used to with Firefox 1.5, so don’t expect any real changes to the rendering system. Indeed after checking, CSS 3 support in Firefox 2 is almost identical to the previous version of Firefox.
However, Firefox 3 (codenamed ‘Minefield’) is available for download from the darkest depths of the Mozilla web site. Firefox 3, probably released around Easter 2007, is branching from a completely new trunk of the Gekko engine, Gekko 1.9.x in fact. After taking the alpha for a spin, one very noticable thing is that the rendering engine is lightning fast and handles CSS 3 with ease. Unfortunately the browser itself is very unstable, which is to be predicted as it is an alpha.
You can download Mozilla Firefox 2 from http://www.getfirefox.com, if your copy of Firefox hasn’t updated itself already.
25.Oct.06 Uncategorized Comments (0)
What’s this then? A large shipping container with Sun Microsystems computers in it maybe? Well almost right. But this isn’t a standard shipment of Sun equipment, but rather a fully ready datacentre in a box.
23.Oct.06 Uncategorized Comments (0)
Today Microsoft have released the long-time coming Windows Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) for Windows XP Service Pack 2. IE7 has been touted by Microsoft as ‘easier and more secure’, although the latter point will be a wait and see scenario as there are already rumours of a security flaw in IE7.
IE7 does sport much better CSS support, adopting a majority of CCS 2 standards as well as some CSS 3 standards, although still not quite a good as the Gekko engine in FireFox. But for web developers like myself, IE7 is a step in the right direction for users who stick with the Microsoft browser.
Windows Vista will ship with IE 7 only, with rumours circulating that it will simply be called Windows Explorer 7 in Vista…
Download IE7 from Microsoft at : http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/
19.Oct.06 Uncategorized Comments (0)
Today the first Blu-Ray disk’s were released for general consumption in Europe. This is a massive step forward for the HD movement. The only problem with this is that there are no players available to play this new format on. The first two Blu-Ray players come in two weeks from Samsung and Panasonic, with players from Pioneer, Philips and JVC following. Sony are going to release their player near Christmas, although they have already angered many European fans by delaying the launch of the Playstation 3 that also has Blu-Ray playback capability.
We can all be sure that HD-DVD will not be far behind, with players from Toshiba arriving soon. In other related news, there are rumours that Apple may be about to announce their support for HD-DVD alongside their existing support for Blu-Ray. This would make sense as Apple will want to provide support for both in their next release of Final Cut Studio, particularly DVD Studio Pro.
16.Oct.06 Uncategorized Comments (0)
Polaris Digital have now changed electricity supplier from our former to Ecotricity. Unlike regular suppliers, Ecotricity only source their power from 100% renewable sources, such as wind farms, wave power and solar energy sources. The profit Ecotricity generate is re-invested into producing more renewable energy schemes enabling more and more customers to go green.
This means that the energy Polaris Digital now use is 100% renewable and we are not producing any additional carbon from our internal activities.
In addition to changing electricity supplier, we have now removed every energy hungry CRT monitor and television from our premises, replacing them all with LCD displays that use a third of the power. Naturally we have been using energy-saving light bulbs and new LED lights for some time. LED lights use only two-percent of the power of a conventional bulb. In addition to these green measures, we do not use air-conditioning systems in our office and always use public transport to get around.
All in all this means that we can feel good as we’re not burning fossil fuels to run our business, our carbon footprint is now almost non-existant and we use much less electricity. It makes perfect sense to protect our planet, but it also makes business sense as our bills are now much lower.
We now feel confident that Polaris Digital are one of the most energy efficient companies operating in Manchester, if not the North West.
12.Oct.06 Uncategorized Comments (3)
It seems that if you have a new web site in development, then October is the month it will be launched in. At the moment I am working on a number of web sites for large and smaller clients, plus the new Polaris Digital web site. The JISC Collections web site launched earlier this month and then next one to launch will be announced here next week.
While all my commerical clients have been developing their new sites, Polaris Digital has also been working on a new site that meets our new brand. We wanted something that was very clean, clear and easy to use. Underneath the clarity and simplicity would be a wealth of information, and media. But for the casual browser, Polaris Digital should be easy.
The other consideration was accessibility. To ensure our site was WCAG-AAA compliant we had to completely rethink our approach. Luckily the work we have been doing with The University of Manchester has aided this greatly.
So although our new site is not quite ready, I’m posting the designs we have passed through to get to where we are today; from left to right; Revision C, D, E;
Click image for full size version
To see the final site design, you’ll just have to check back soon… it looks nothing like those just in case you’re wondering!
12.Oct.06 Uncategorized Comments (0)
